209-513: Flamboyant (from French flamboyant 'flaming') is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance . Elaborate stone tracery covered both the exterior and the interior. Windows were decorated with a characteristic s-shaped curve. Masonry wall space
418-513: A de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share the official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and
627-411: A castle that was adorned with gold and silver. Isabella's basic education consisted of reading, spelling, writing, grammar, history, arithmetic, art, chess , dancing, embroidery, music, and religious instruction. She and her ladies-in-waiting entertained themselves with art, embroidery, and music. She lived a relaxed lifestyle, but she rarely left Segovia since King Henry forbade this. Her half-brother
836-508: A lierne vault with a keystone depicting Saint George and the Dragon . Following the 1428 Catalonia earthquake , a replacement Flamboyant rose window on the west façade of the church of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona , was completed by 1459. It is worth mentioning a few examples of civil buildings, in particular the trading floors(Lonjas) in Palma de Mallorca( 1420-1452) and Valencia(1482-1498) having
1045-568: A Flamboyant rib vault; St. John's Cathedral ('s-Hertogenbosch) in 's-Hertogenbosch (1220–1530), the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels (1485–1519); and Liege Cathedral . The town halls of Belgium, many of which were built by the prosperous textile merchants of Flanders, were even more flamboyant. They were among the last great statements of Gothic style as the Renaissance gradually came to Northern Europe, and were designed to showcase
1254-720: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
1463-648: A Roman triumphal arch flanked by pilasters with Lombard candelabra. Gothic foliage, which was now more jagged and wilted as seen at the Hôtel de Cluny in Paris, mingles with portraits of Roman emperors in medallions at the Château de Gaillon . The maison des Têtes (1528–1532) in Valence is another example of Flamboyant blind tracery and foliage mixing with classicizing figures, medallions, and portraits of Roman emperors. In architecture,
1672-466: A central courtyard. The Château de Châteadun , which was transformed between 1459 and 1468 by Jehan de Dunois , the half-brother of king Charles VI , and was one earliest residences built for leisure in France. The Château has one of the seven remaining Sainte-Chapelle chapels and an elegant spiral staircase. The corresponding façade is decorated with characteristic flame-like tracery in the windows and also includes dormers with fleur-de-lys , denoting
1881-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
2090-543: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
2299-576: A glass artist known only as The Master of the Life of Saint-John the Baptist. It is nine meters in diameter, with 89 sections of glass, of which all but nine are original. The curling tracery of the window spills out onto the exterior of the west façade. where the Sainte-Chapelle de Vincennes , a royal chapel constructed by King Charles V of France , is a notable example. It was located just outside Paris, next to
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#17330850583432508-868: A good number of fine cloisters built during the 15th century such us the ones in the cathedrals of Burgo de Osma, Sigüenza, Lérida(LLeida), Segovia, Oviedo, in monasteries like San Salvador in Oña , Santa Maria la Real in Nájera , Santa Maria de la Oliva in Carcastillo , or San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo , and in churches like Santo Domingo in Jerez de la Frontera , Santa Maria in Los Arcos (Navarra), San Miguel in Oñate or Santa Maria la Real in Sasamón . Spain
2717-467: A less formal role. This role depended greatly on the individuals' political influence and personal influence with the monarch. During Isabella's reign, the role of this second category was completely eliminated. As mentioned previously, Isabella had little care for personal bribes or favors. Because of this, this second type of councillor, usually of the nobility, was only allowed to attend the council of Castile as an observer. Isabella began to rely more on
2926-642: A new and much more balanced sharing of the Atlantic at Tordesillas in 1494. As the orders received by Columbus in his first voyage (1492) show: "[the Catholic Monarchs] have always in mind that the limits signed in the share of Alcáçovas should not be overcome, and thus they insist with Columbus to sail along the parallel of Canary." Thus, by sponsoring the Columbian adventure to the west, the Spanish monarchs were trying
3135-611: A new form of personal justice that Castile had not seen before. The Council of State was reformed and presided over by the king and queen. This department of public affairs dealt mainly with foreign negotiations, hearing embassies, and transacting business with the Court of Rome. In addition to these departments, there was also a Supreme Court of the Santa Hermandad, a Council of Finance, and a Council for settling purely Aragonese matters. Although Isabella made many reforms that seem to have made
3344-536: A noted jurist, Alfonso Diaz de Montalvo , to undertake the task of clearing away legal rubbish and compiling what remained into a comprehensive code. Within four years the work stood completed in eight bulky volumes and the Ordenanzas Reales took their place on legal bookshelves. At the end of the Reconquista , only Granada was left for Isabella and Ferdinand to conquer. The Emirate of Granada had been held by
3553-696: A particularly strong influence in Low Countries, which was then part of the Spanish Netherlands and was also a part of the Catholic diocese of Cologne . Extraordinarily high towers were a feature of the Belgian style. In the 15th century, Belgian architects produced remarkable examples of religious and secular Flamboyant architecture, one of which is the tower of St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen (1452–1520), which
3762-481: A period of Late Gothic architecture , following Early Gothic architecture , High Gothic , and Rayonnant . Flamboyant is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tracery , which give the style its name; by the multiplication of ornamental ribs in the vaults ; and by the use of the arch in accolade . Ribs in Flamboyant tracery are recognizable by their flowing forms, which are influenced by
3971-639: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
4180-531: A pivotal role in shaping the Spanish linguistic legacy in the New World. In 1492, she endorsed the first grammar of the Castilian language titled Gramática de la lengua castellana , written by Elio Antonio de Nebrija, the father of Spanish grammar. This grammar was intended to spread the Spanish language across the newly discovered lands, aligning with Spain's imperial ambitions, as Nebrija himself declared it would teach
4389-499: A reality. If Isabella married Afonso, Henry's daughter Joanna would marry Afonso's son John II and thus, after the death of the old king, John and Joanna could inherit Portugal and Castile. Isabella refused and made a secret promise to marry her cousin and very first betrothed, Ferdinand of Aragon. After this failed attempt, Henry once again went against his promises and tried to marry Isabella to Louis XI 's brother Charles, Duke of Berry . In Henry's eyes, this alliance would cement
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#17330850583434598-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
4807-650: A result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including the United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ,
5016-402: A reward for services were to be restored without compensation, while those that had been sold at a price far below their real value were to be bought back at the same sum. While many of the nobility were forced to pay large sums of money for their estates, the royal treasury became even richer. Isabella's one stipulation was that there would be no revocation of gifts made to churches, hospitals, or
5225-600: A series of new monasteries and churches that were covered with decoration inspired by banana trees, sea shells, billowing sails, seaweed, barnacles, and other exotic elements as a monument to the Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama and to celebrate Portugal's empire. The most lavish example of this decoration is found on the Convent of Christ in Tomar (1510–1514). Architects in central Europe adopted some forms and elements of Flamboyant in
5434-430: A shortage of money. Although her father arranged in his will for his children to be financially well taken care of, Henry did not comply with their father's wishes, either from a desire to keep his half-siblings restricted or from ineptitude. Even though her living conditions were difficult, Isabella was instructed in lessons of practical piety and in a deep reverence for religion under the supervision of her mother. When
5643-711: A similar design with a columnar hall plan, the one in Valencia being more ambitious. The fine columns have a helicoidal design, characteristic of Iberian Gothic architecture. Other examples can be found in the church of Santiago in Villena, the Cistercian monastery of Secar de la Real in Palma, the church of Magdalena in Olivenza or the Palace of Montarco in Ciudad Rodrigo. Additional examples of
5852-439: A small oratory and a sacristy . The pendant vaults are decorated with finely carved keystones . The mouldings of the transverse ribs are decorated with the monograms of Charles de Bourbon, Pierre de Bourbon, and his wife, Anne of France . The transition from Flamboyant Gothic to early French Renaissance began during the reign of Louis XII (1495) and lasted until roughly 1525 or 1530. During this brief transition period,
6061-521: A specific street or square. This architectural response to increasing concerns with the aesthetics of urban space is particularly notable in Normandy, where a striking group of late 15th- and early 16th-century projecting polygonal porches were constructed in the Flamboyant style; examples include Notre-Dame, Alençon ; La Trinité, Falaise ; Notre-Dame, Louviers ; and Saint-Maclou, Rouen . Martin Chambiges ,
6270-642: A spreading tree. A fine example is found in the chapel of the Hotel de Cluny in Paris (1485–1510). French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance ,
6479-536: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
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6688-453: A working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As
6897-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
7106-467: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
7315-654: Is all that remains of the Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie ("Saint James of the butchers"), which was built 1509–23 and was located close to Les Halles , the Paris central market. In the Loire Valley , the west front of Tours Cathedral was a notable example of Flamboyant architecture. As the French Renaissance began with the royal chateaux along the Loire, the towers of the cathedral were updated with domes and lanterns in
7524-484: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
7733-628: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
7942-593: Is found in the top of the Great West Window in York Minster—the cathedral of the Archbishop of York . It also appears in the Flamboyant curvilinear bar-tracery of St Matthew's Church at Salford Priors , Warwickshire . The flamboyant tracery designs are the most characteristic feature of the Flamboyant style. They appeared in the stone mullions , the framework of windows, particularly in the great rose windows of
8151-526: Is generally considered the turning point of the acceptance and establishment of the Renaissance style in France. Early evidence of the intermingling of Flamboyant and classicizing decorative motifs can be found at the Château de Meillant , which was transformed by Charles II d'Amboise , governor of Milan , in 1473. The structure remained fully medieval but the superposition of the windows in bays connected to each other by extended, cord-like pinnacles foreshadows
8360-520: Is generally considered to be the starting point of the period of interaction between the Flamboyant Gothic and early French Renaissance styles. In general, theories of building design and structure remained French while surface decoration became Italian. There were connections between French architectural production and other stylistic traditions, including Plateresque in Spain and the decorative arts of
8569-549: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
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8778-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
8987-462: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
9196-775: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
9405-515: Is possible Morow or his team of Continental masons worked on both. Comparison can also be made with the chapel (1379–) of the Château de Vincennes , a castle and royal residence near Paris. Somewhat later, further Flamboyant work was done on the western bays of Brechin Cathedral. In England, the contemporaneous Late Gothic (or Third Pointed) style Perpendicular Gothic was prevalent from the middle 14th century. A very early example of Flamboyant tracery
9614-618: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
9823-538: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
10032-479: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
10241-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
10450-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
10659-435: The lierne and the tierceron , whose functions were purely decorative. These ribs spread out over the surface to make a star vault; a ceiling of star vaults gave the ceiling a dense network of decoration. Another feature of the period was a type of very tall, round pillar without a capital, from which ribs sprang and spread upwards to the vaults. They were often used as the support for a fan vault , which branched upward like
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#173308505834310868-481: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
11077-417: The Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco; the Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to
11286-469: The Castel Nuovo of Naples are evidence of a new decorative art in which the structure remains deeply Gothic. The spread of ornamental vocabularies from Pavia and Milan also played major roles. Equally important is the influence of Italian architects who designed formal gardens and fountains to complement French monuments as seen at the Château de Blois (1499) and the Château de Gaillon shortly thereafter. The incorporation of Flamboyant Gothic with
11495-403: The Church of Saint-Maclou , Rouen , (c.1500–1514); the west front of Troyes Cathedral (early 16th century), and a very early example, the upper tracery of Great West Window of York Minster (1338–1339) in England. Further major examples include the chapel of the Constable of Castile ( Spanish : Capilla del Condestable ) at Burgos Cathedral (1482–94); Notre-Dame de l'Épine , Champagne ;
11704-703: The Church of Saint-Pierre, Caen . Mouchettes and soufflets were also applied in openwork form to gables, as seen on the west façade of Trinity Abbey, Vendôme . The term "Flamboyant" typically refers to church façades and to some secular buildings such as the Palais de Justice in Rouen. Church façades and porches were often the most elaborate architectural features of towns and cities, especially in France, and frequently projected outwards onto marketplaces and town squares. The intricate and dazzling forms of many façades and porches often appealed to their urban contexts; in some cases, new façades and porches were designed to create impressive architectural vistas when viewed from
11913-421: The County of Flanders during the late 14th century. Parts of these lands were involved in the cloth trade with the Kingdom of England or were under the control of John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford , regent of France for his nephew Henry VI , King of France from 1422 to 1453. Through this direct connection, the flickering, flame-like tracery motifs after which the style is named may have been "inspired by
12122-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
12331-412: The Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only a second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and
12540-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
12749-441: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
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#173308505834312958-399: The French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as
13167-439: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
13376-423: The New World on 12 October. He returned the next year and presented his findings to the monarchs, bringing natives and gold under a hero's welcome. Although Columbus was sponsored by the Castilian queen, treasury accounts show no royal payments to him until 1493, after his first voyage was complete. Spain then entered a Golden Age of exploration and colonization —the period of the Spanish Empire . In 1494, by
13585-420: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
13794-403: The Treaty of Tordesillas , Isabella and Ferdinand agreed to divide the Earth, outside of Europe, with King John II of Portugal . The Portuguese did not recognize that South America belonged to the Spanish because it was in Portugal's sphere of influence, and King John II threatened to send an army to claim the land for the Portuguese. Beyond her support for Columbus, Queen Isabella also played
14003-436: The World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
14212-433: The collegiate churches and cathedrals, and by urban parish churches that rivalled them in size and magnificence. Use of the ogee was especially common. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Flamboyant forms spread from France to the Iberian Peninsula , where the Isabelline style became the dominant mode of prestige construction in the Crown of Castile, the portion of Spain governed by Isabella I of Castille . During
14421-430: The mass expulsion of Jews from Spain, initiating the Spanish Inquisition , financing Christopher Columbus 's 1492 voyage to the New World , and establishing the Spanish empire , making Spain a major power in Europe and the world and ultimately ushering in the Spanish Golden Age . Together with her husband, Isabella was granted the title of "Catholic Monarch" by Pope Alexander VI , a Spaniard. Her sainthood cause
14630-478: The 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota , which secured the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal . Batalha was modified in the Flamboyant style after 1400. The building includes elements borrowed by the English Perpendicular style, tracery inspired by French Flamboyant, and German-inspired openwork steeples. In 1495, Portuguese navigators opened a sea-route to India and began trading with Brazil, Goa , and Malacca , bringing enormous wealth into Portugal. King Manuel funded
14839-410: The 15th and 16th centuries, architects and masons in the Kingdom of France , the Crown of Castile , the Duchy of Milan , and Central Europe exchanged expertise through theoretical texts, architectural drawings, and travel, and spread the use of Flamboyant ornament and design across Europe. Notable examples of Flamboyant style are the west rose window of Sainte-Chapelle (1485–1498); the west porch of
15048-502: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
15257-798: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
15466-689: The Atlantic and was deprived of the gold of Guinea, which induced anger in Andalusia . Spanish academic Antonio Rumeu de Armas claims that with the peace treaty of Alcáçovas in 1479, the Catholic Monarchs "... buy the peace at an excessively expensive price ..." and historian Mª Monserrat León Guerrero added that they "... find themselves forced to abandon their expansion by the Atlantic ;...". Christopher Columbus freed Castile from this difficult situation, because his New World discovery led to
15675-682: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
15884-886: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
16093-482: The Castilian and Portuguese fleets fought for hegemony in the Atlantic Ocean and for the wealth of Guinea (gold and slaves), where the decisive naval Battle of Guinea was fought. The war dragged on for another three years and ended with a Castilian victory on land and a Portuguese victory on the sea. The four separate peace treaties signed at Alcáçovas (4 September 1479) reflected that result: Portugal gave up
16302-533: The Castilian right wing and remained in possession of the battlefield. But despite its uncertain outcome, the Battle of Toro represented a great political victory for the Catholic Monarchs , assuring them the throne since the supporters of Joanna la Beltraneja disbanded and the Portuguese army, without allies, left Castile. As summarized by the historian Justo L. González : Both armies faced each other at
16511-544: The Catholic Monarchs ;– who had proclaimed themselves rulers of Portugal and donated lands to noblemen inside this country – had to give up the Portuguese crown. At Alcáçovas, Isabella and Ferdinand had secured the throne, but the Portuguese exclusive right of navigation and commerce in all of the Atlantic Ocean south of the Canary Islands meant that Spain was practically blocked out of
16720-451: The Cortes stronger, in actuality the Cortes lost political power during the reigns of Isabella and Ferdinand. Isabella and her husband moved in the direction of a non-parliamentary government and the Cortes became an almost passive advisory body, giving automatic assent to legislation which had been drafted by the royal administration. After the reforms of the Cortes of Toledo, the queen ordered
16929-565: The Decorated style, which had largely passed out of fashion in England by 1360, rather than from the more current Perpendicular style". The clear rejection of the grid-like forms in France indicates some awareness of the contrasting styles. The emergence of the Flamboyant style was a gradual process. What has been termed "proto-Flamboyant" appeared at the Saint-Ouen Abbey, Rouen in the inner wall of
17138-524: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
17347-586: The English Decorated style", though this is disputed. In addition, the Duchy of Normandy , was in personal union with England until the 13th century, while during the Hundred Years' War , Rouen, capital of Normandy, was English territory from 1419 until 1449. Earlier in the conflict, John, Duke of Berry was taken hostage in England. The ongoing war provided many opportunities for cultural exchange, as evidenced by
17556-495: The Flamboyant is considered the last phase of French Gothic architecture and appeared in the closing decades of the 14th century, succeeding the Rayonnant style and prevailing until its gradual replacement by Renaissance architecture during the first third of the 16th century. Notable examples of Flamboyant in France include the west rose window of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, the transepts of Sens Cathedral and Beauvais Cathedral ,
17765-601: The Flamboyant repertoire. With the ascendancy of Louis XII, French masons and sculptors were further exposed to new, classicizing motifs that were popular in Italy. In architectural sculpture, the systematic contribution of Italian elements and the "Gothic" reinterpretation of Italian Renaissance works is evident in the Abbey of Saint-Pierre in Solesmes , where the Gothic structure takes the form of
17974-719: The Flamboyant style in the Kingdom of Valencia include the cloister of the Convent of Sant Doménec, the dome of the cathedral of Valencia, or the reformed transept of the cathedral of Orihuela. In the kingdom of Castile, representative examples of civil Gothic architecture include the Infantado Palace in Guadalajara , the Casa de las Conchas in Salamanca or the castle of Manzanares el Real . There are
18183-627: The Flamboyant style; it was more common to commission additions to existing structures. One exception is the Church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen, which was commissioned by the Dufour family during the English occupation of the town . It was designed by the master mason Pierre Robin, who was in charge of construction from 1434 until the church was consecrated in 1521. The church, which is referred to as "monumental architecture in
18392-476: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
18601-509: The Hundred Years' War against England (1337–1444). Despite this, the construction of new cathedrals, churches, and civil structures—as well as additions to existing monuments—went ahead in France and continued throughout the early 16th century. Features of the Flamboyant style are richly articulated façades, very high, lavishly decorated porches, towers, and spires. Early examples included the castle chapel of John, Duke of Berry, at Riom (1382),
18810-413: The Hundred Years' War. Façades and porches often used the arc en accolade , an arched doorway that was topped by short pinnacle with a fleuron or carved stone flower, often resembling a lily. The short pinnacle bearing the fleuron had its own decoration of small, sculpted forms like twisting leaves of cabbage or other naturalistic vegetation. There were also two slender pinnacles, one on either side of
19019-666: The Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as a second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as
19228-663: The Indians [indigenous Americans] to receive any wrong in their persons and property, but rather that they be treated well and fairly, and if they have received any wrong, remedy it." With the institution of the Catholic Inquisition in Spain, and with the Dominican friar Tomás de Torquemada as the first Inquisitor General , the Catholic Monarchs pursued a policy of religious and national unity. Though Isabella opposed taking harsh measures against Jews on economic grounds, Torquemada
19437-747: The Isabelline style; they were the chief architects of the flamboyant features of Burgos Cathedral (1440–1481), including the openwork towers and the tracery in the star vault in the Chapel of the Constable. The Manueline style was named for King Manuel I of Portugal , who reigned from 1495 to 1523, a period of cultural and economic splendour in Portugal, the style was originally known as ad modus hispaniae . Batalha Monastery 's construction began in 1387 to celebrate John I of Portugal 's victory over John I of Castile at
19646-591: The Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to
19855-532: The Middle Ages because it contained the relics of Saint Anthony the Great , which were especially sought out by those who were suffering from "Saint Anthony's Fire" ( ergot poisoning ). Royal figures including Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1415), Louis XI of France (1475), and Anne of Brittany (1494) also visited the abbey-church. The building's most prominent architectural feature is its monumental west façade, which
20064-565: The Muslim Nasrid dynasty since the mid-13th century. Protected by natural barriers and fortified towns, it had withstood the long process of the Reconquista. On 1 February 1482, the king and queen reached Medina del Campo and this is generally considered the beginning of the Granada War . While Isabella's and Ferdinand's involvement in the war was apparent from the start, Granada's leadership
20273-448: The OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as a second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
20482-543: The additions were begun in 1419. Flamboyant had little influence in England, where the Perpendicular style prevailed. Flamboyant architecture was not common in the British Isles but examples are numerous. The flame-like window tracery appeared at Gloucester Cathedral before it appeared in France. In Scotland , Flamboyant detailing was employed in window tracery of the northern side of the nave at Melrose Abbey , and for
20691-402: The alliance was that a marriage was to be arranged between Charles and Isabella. When John II learned of this arranged marriage, he was outraged. Isabella had been intended for his favorite younger son, Ferdinand, and in his eyes, this alliance was still valid. John II had his son Charles thrown in prison on charges of plotting against his father's life. Charles died in 1461. In 1465, an attempt
20900-428: The arch. Elision—the elimination of capitals —coupled with the introduction of continuous and "dying" mouldings, are additional noteworthy characteristics of which the parish church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen is a key example. The uninterrupted fluidity and merging of disparate forms led to the emergence of decorative Gothic vaults in France. Another characteristic feature were vaults with additional types of ribs called
21109-456: The basis of the de facto unification of Spain. Her reforms and those she made with her husband had an influence that extended well beyond the borders of their united kingdoms. Isabella and Ferdinand are known for being the first monarchs to be referred to as the queen and king of Spain, respectively. Their actions included completion of the Reconquista , the Alhambra Decree which ordered
21318-511: The camps of Toro resulting in an indecisive battle. But while the Portuguese King reorganized his troops, Ferdinand sent news to all the cities of Castile and to several foreign kingdoms informing them about a huge victory where the Portuguese were crushed. Faced with these news, the party of "la Beltraneja" [Joanna] was dissolved and the Portuguese were forced to return to their kingdom. With great political vision, Isabella took advantage of
21527-452: The classicizing forms of Italy produced eclectic, hybrid structures that were rooted in traditional French building practices yet modernized through the application of imported antique motifs and surface decoration. These transitional monuments led to the birth of French Renaissance architecture. Variations of Flamboyant, influenced by France but with their own characteristics, began to appear in other parts of continental Europe. Flamboyant had
21736-500: The coinage had to approximate . By shutting down many of the mints and taking royal control over the production of money, Isabella restored the confidence of the public in the Crown's ability to handle the kingdom's finances. Both Isabella and Ferdinand established very few new governmental and administrative institutions in their respective kingdoms. Especially in Castile, their main achievement
21945-535: The cortes of Madrigal in 1476 in the form of a police force, La Santa Hermandad (the Holy Brotherhood). Although 1476 was not the first time that Castile had seen the Hermandad, it was the first time that the police force was used by the crown. During the late medieval period, the expression hermandad had been used to describe groups of men who came together of their own accord to regulate law and order by patrolling
22154-492: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Isabella I of Castille Isabella I ( Spanish : Isabel I ; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: Isabel la Católica ), was Queen of Castile and León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon from 1479 until her death as
22363-553: The court of Henry with the excuse of visiting her brother Alfonso's tomb in Ávila . Ferdinand, on the other hand, crossed Castile in secret disguised as a servant. They married immediately upon reuniting on 19 October 1469 in the Palacio de los Vivero in the city of Valladolid . On 12 December 1474, news of King Henry IV's death in Madrid (which had happened on 11 December ) reached Segovia . This prompted Isabella to take refuge within
22572-591: The crossed rib vaults and pierced openwork tracery of Burgos Cathedral . To this, Spanish architects such as Juan Guas added distinctive new features, for example in the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo (1488–1496) and the Colegio de San Gregorio (completed 1487). The rose window on the west façade of Toledo Cathedral (late 15th century) is a good example. Juan de Colonia and his son Simón de Colonia , originally from Cologne, are other notable architects of
22781-508: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
22990-522: The destination needing merely their cementing in place. This eliminated storage near the construction site, and the work could be done without the permanent presence of the architect. Before the unification of Spain , monuments were constructed in the Flamboyant style in the Crown of Aragon and Kingdom of Valencia , where Marc Safont was among the most important architects of the Late Middle Ages. Safont
23199-532: The earlier curvilinear tracery of the Second Gothic (or Second Pointed) styles. Very tall and narrow pointed arches and gables , particularly double-curved ogee arches, are common in buildings of the Flamboyant style. In most regions of Europe, Late Gothic styles like Flamboyant replaced the earlier Rayonnant style and other early variations. The style was particularly popular in Continental Europe . In
23408-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
23617-585: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
23826-671: The façade of Sainte-Chapelle de Vincennes and the west front of Trinity Abbey, Vendôme . Significant examples of civil architecture include the Palais Jacques Cœur in Bourges and the Hôtel de Cluny in Paris . In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, contemporary styles called Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic appeared in England. Although the precise origin of the Flamboyant style remain unclear, it likely emerged in northern France and
24035-415: The few parts of that Cathedral still standing. The Flamboyant façades of Sens Cathedral, Beauvais Cathedral, Senlis Cathedral and Troyes Cathedral (1502–1531) were all the work of the same master builder, Martin Chambiges . Flamboyant windows were often composed of two arched windows, over which was a pointed, oval design divided by curving lines called soufflets and mouchettes . Examples are found in
24244-508: The fireplace in the ducal palace in Poitiers and the panelled, screen-like upper parts of the west façade of Rouen Cathedral . Tracery patterns of the 14th century are either rich, flame-like forms inspired by the English Decorated (e.g. west façade of York Minster) or the "panelled severity" of English Perpendicular style (e.g. King's College Chapel, Cambridge ). According to Robert Bork, "continental builders borrowed almost exclusively from
24453-582: The fireplace in the great chamber (1390s) of the ducal palace at Poitiers , and in the La Grange chapels (c. 1375) at Amiens Cathedral . Residences of the nobility were among the earliest structures that were entirely built in the Flamboyant style. The Palais Jacques Coeur, residence of the treasurer of the King at Bourges was built between 1444 and 1451. It combines residential and official wings that are richly decorated with gables, turrets, and chimneys arranged around
24662-560: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
24871-439: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
25080-489: The friendship of Castile and France as well as remove Isabella from Castilian affairs. However, Isabella once again refused the proposal. Meanwhile, John II of Aragon negotiated in secret with Isabella a wedding to his son Ferdinand. After her marriage to Ferdinand, several anonymous journal entries claim the queen was unfaithful and plotted against the king. On 18 October 1469, the formal betrothal took place. Because Isabella and Ferdinand were second cousins, they stood within
25289-715: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
25498-431: The great Castilian houses of nobility. While the nobles held the titles, individuals of lesser breeding did the real work. Traditionally, the main advisory body to the rulers of Castile was the Royal Council . The council, under the monarch, had full power to resolve all legal and political disputes. The council was responsible for supervising all senior administrative officials, such as the Crown representatives in all of
25707-448: The great churches of northern France, palaces constructed by royal and elite patrons provided "fertile grounds for innovation" with curvilinear tracery in France while England turned to the Perpendicular style. The term "Flamboyant" was coined in the early 19th century, primarily to refer to French monuments with flame-like, curvilinear tracery that were constructed between circa 1380 and 1515. The Flamboyant style appeared in France during
25916-430: The grid designs of the façades of early French Renaissance monuments. Other notable features include the entablature with classical egg-and-dart motifs surmounted by a Gothic balustrade and the treatment of the upper part of the helical staircase with a semi-circular arcade equipped with shells. In the final years of the reign of Charles VIII, experimentation with Italian ornamentation continued to enrich and mix with
26125-402: The importance of restoring the Crown's finances. The reign of Henry IV had left the Kingdom of Castile in great debt. Upon examination, it was found that the chief cause of the nation's poverty was the wholesale alienation of royal estates during Henry's reign. To make money, Henry had sold off royal estates at prices well below their value. The Cortes of Toledo of 1480 came to the conclusion that
26334-465: The islands of Sicily and Sardinia , were left to his brother John II. John now had a stronger position than ever before and no longer needed the security of Henry's friendship. Henry was now in need of a new alliance. He saw the chance for this much-needed new friendship in Charles of Viana , John's elder son. Charles was constantly at odds with his father, and because of this, he secretly entered into an alliance with Henry IV of Castile. A major part of
26543-484: The keys of the city and the principal mosque was consecrated as a church. The Treaty of Granada was signed later that year; in it, Ferdinand and Isabella gave their word to allow the Muslims and Jews of Granada to live in peace. During the war, Isabella noted the abilities and energy of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and made him one of the two commissioners for the negotiations. Under her patronage, De Córdoba went on to an extraordinary military career that revolutionized
26752-428: The king's wife, Joan of Portugal , was about to give birth to their daughter Joanna , Isabella and Alfonso were summoned to court in Segovia to come under the direct supervision of the king and to finish their education. Alfonso was placed in the care of a tutor while Isabella became part of the queen's household. Some of Isabella's living conditions improved in Segovia. She always had food and clothing and lived in
26961-401: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
27170-442: The language to the inhabitants of these territories. Isabella was not in favor of enslaving the American natives . She established the royal position on how the indigenous people should be treated by following the recent policies implemented in the Canary Islands (which had a small number of native inhabitants), which stated that all peoples were subjects of the Crown of Castile , and could not be enslaved in most situations. She
27379-424: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
27588-501: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
27797-428: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
28006-404: The late 14th century, and added many innovations of their own. The Late Gothic buildings of Austria , Bavaria , Saxony , and Bohemia are sometimes called Sondergotik . The high triple west porch of Ulm Minster was placed at the base of the tower; it was designed by Ulrich von Ensingen . The porch, which was in the centre of the façade — a break from earlier Gothic styles. Work on the tower
28215-407: The late 15th century is the west rose window of the royal chapel, Sainte-Chapelle (1485–98), depicting the Apocalypse of St John . It is 9 meters (29.5 feet) in diameter, with eighty-nine panels arranged in three concentric zones around a central eye. Flamboyant rose windows are also prominent features of the transept of Sens Cathedral (15th c.) and the transept of Beauvais Cathedral (1499), one of
28424-548: The major towns. It was also the supreme judicial tribunal of the kingdom. In 1480, during the Cortes of Toledo, Isabella made many reforms to the Royal Council. Previously there had been two distinct yet overlapping categories of royal councillor. One formed a group which possessed both judicial and administrative responsibilities. This portion consisted of some bishops, some nobles, and an increasingly important element of professional administrators with legal training known as letrados . The second category of traditional councillor had
28633-425: The massive Château de Vincennes and was inspired by the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The Sainte-Chapelle de Vincennes had a single floor and the windows, consisting of curvilinear tracery, covered nearly all of the walls. Construction began in 1379 but was halted by the Hundred Years War and the window and west front were completed until 1552. A significant Flamboyant landmark in Paris is the Tour Saint-Jacques , which
28842-495: The miniature", has double-tiered flying buttresses , fully developed transept façades with portals, curvilinear rose windows , and a projecting polygonal west porch with openwork ogee gables . The influence of Pierre Robin's design lasted into the 16th century, when Roulland Le Roux oversaw work on the upper parts of the Tour de Beurre ("Butter Tower") (1485–1507) and the central portal (1507–1510) of Rouen Cathedral. Increasing specialization in Gothic workshops and lodges led to
29051-414: The moment and convoked courts at Madrigal-Segovia (April–October 1476) where her eldest child and daughter Isabella was first sworn as heiress to Castile's crown. That was equivalent to legitimizing Isabella's own throne. In August of the same year, Isabella proved her abilities as a powerful ruler on her own. A rebellion broke out in Segovia, and Isabella rode out to suppress it, as her husband Ferdinand
29260-420: The most prolific French architect between c. 1480 and c. 1530, combined three-dimensional forms such as nodding ogees with a miniaturized vocabulary of niches, baldachins, and pinnacles to produce dynamic façades with a new sense of depth at Sens Cathedral, Beauvais Cathedral , and Troyes Cathedral . The addition of sumptuous Flamboyant façades and porches provided new public faces to older monuments that survived
29469-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
29678-403: The new style, completed in 1507. Beyond northern France, churches were also enlarged and updated with additions in the Flamboyant style. Due to its size and decoration, the abbey-church of Saint-Antoine in Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye ( Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ) is one of the most significant examples of Gothic architecture in southeastern France. The five-aisled abbey-church was a key pilgrimage site in
29887-400: The nobility to choose whether to participate or not would weed out those who were not dedicated to the state and its cause. Isabella also saw the need to provide a personal relationship between herself as the monarch and her subjects. Therefore, Isabella and Ferdinand set aside a time every Friday during which they themselves would sit and allow people to come to them with complaints. This was
30096-543: The nobles asked Isabella to take his place as champion of the rebellion. However, support for the rebels had begun to wane, and Isabella preferred a negotiated settlement to continuing the war. She met with Henry at Toros de Guisando and they reached a compromise: the war would stop, Henry would name Isabella his heir presumptive instead of his daughter Joanna, and Isabella would not marry without her half-brother's consent, but he would not be able to force her to marry against her will. Isabella's side came out with most of what
30305-418: The nobles desired, though they did not go so far as to officially depose King Henry; they were not powerful enough to do so, and Isabella did not want to jeopardize the principle of fair inherited succession, since it was upon this idea that she had based her argument for legitimacy as heir-presumptive. The question of Isabella's marriage was not a new one. She had, at the age of six, a betrothal to Ferdinand ,
30514-414: The north transept between 1390 and 1410. No flowing, double-curved forms were used there but the "eight double lancet panels seem to spin around a quatrefoil center". Although this rose motif appears dynamic and in motion, its design was not based on the double-curve. It is an early example of experimentation with tracery forms that anticipates the use of flowing, double-curve forms in Normandy. More so than
30723-401: The north spire of Chartres Cathedral (1500s–); and Segovia Cathedral (1525–). The Late Gothic style appeared in Central Europe with the construction of the new Prague Cathedral (1344–) under the direction of Peter Parler . This model of rich, variegated tracery and intricate reticulated (net-work) rib-vaulting was widely used in the Late Gothic of continental Europe, and was emulated in
30932-439: The north—especially Antwerp . The limits of this style, which is called style Louis XII in French, were variable, especially outside the Loire Valley . This period includes the seventeen-year reign of Louis XII (1498–1515), the end of the reign of Charles VIII , and the beginning of that of Francis I , whose rule corresponded with a definitive stylistic change. The creation of the School of Fontainebleau in 1530 by Francis I
31141-484: The ogee arch and the naturalism of the Gothic style was blended with round arches, flexible forms, and stylized antique motifs that are typical of Renaissance architecture. A good deal of Gothic decoration is apparent at the Château de Blois but it is totally absent from the tomb of Louis XII , which is housed in the abbey-church of Saint-Denis. In 1495, a colony of Italian artists was established in Amboise and worked in collaboration with French master masons. This date
31350-399: The only hope of lasting financial reform lay in a resumption of these alienated lands and rents. This decision was warmly approved by many leading nobles of the court, but Isabella was reluctant to take such drastic measures. It was decided that the Archbishop of Toledo would hold an enquiry into the tenure of estates and rents acquired during Henry IV's reign. Those that had not been granted as
31559-400: The only remaining path of expansion. Now that she had succeeded in securing her place on the Castilian throne, she could begin to institute the reforms that she planned for the kingdom. When Isabella came to the throne in 1474, Castile was in a state of despair due to her brother Henry's reign. It was known that Henry IV was a big spender and did little to enforce the laws of his kingdom. It
31768-501: The organization and tactics of the emerging Spanish military, changing the nature of warfare and altering the European balance of power. Just three months after entering Granada, Queen Isabella agreed to sponsor Christopher Columbus on an expedition to reach the East Indies by sailing west (for a distance of 2,000 miles, according to Columbus). The crown agreed to pay a sum of money as a concession from monarch to subject. Columbus's expedition departed on 3 August 1492, and arrived in
31977-475: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
32186-643: The owner's status as a descendant of Charles V . Another notable example is the Hôtel de Cluny in Paris, originally the residence of the abbot of Cluny, now the Museum of the Middle Ages. Flamboyant details are found in the chapel, the doorways, windows, tower, and roof-line. A late example of Flamboyant civil architecture in France is the Parlement de Normandie , now the Palais de Justice of Rouen (1499–1528), which has slender, crocketed pinnacles and lucarnes terminated with fleurons . They were designed by architects Roger Ango and Roulland Le Roux . In 15th-century France, few churches were constructed entirely in
32395-408: The period, and in complex, pointed, blind arcades and arched gables that were stacked atop one another, and which often covered the entire façade. They were also used in balustrades and other features. Interlocking openwork gables and balustrades, as seen on the west porch of the church of Saint-Maclou, Rouen, were often used to disguise or diffuse the mass of buildings. An important early example from
32604-409: The poor. Another issue of money was the overproduction of coinage and the abundance of mints in the kingdom. During Henry's reign, the number of mints regularly producing money had increased from just five to 150. Much of the coinage produced in these mints was nearly worthless. During the first year of her reign, Isabella established a monopoly over the royal mints and fixed a legal standard to which
32813-401: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
33022-399: The prey of tyrant nobles since the days of Isabella's father, John II. Robbers had infested the highways and oppressed the smaller towns and villages. The officials Isabella charged set off with the Herculean task of restoring peace for the province and were ultimately successful. Indeed, they drove over 1,500 robbers from Galicia. From the very beginning of her reign, Isabella fully grasped
33231-422: The professional administrators than ever before. These men were mostly of the bourgeoisie or lesser nobility. The council was also rearranged and it was officially settled that one bishop, three caballeros , and eight or nine lawyers would serve on the council at a time. While the nobles were no longer directly involved in the matters of state, they were welcome to attend the meetings. Isabella hoped that forcing
33440-474: The prohibited degrees of consanguinity and the marriage would not be legal unless a dispensation from the Pope was obtained. With the help of the Valencian Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI ), Isabella and Ferdinand were presented with a supposed papal bull by Pope Pius II (who had actually died in 1464), authorizing Ferdinand to marry within the third degree of consanguinity, making their marriage legal. Afraid of opposition, Isabella eloped from
33649-407: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
33858-424: The roads and countryside and punishing malefactors. These brotherhoods had usually been suppressed by the monarch, however. Furthermore, before 1476, the justice system in most parts of the country was effectively under the control of dissident members of the nobility rather than royal officials. To fix this problem, during 1476, a general Hermandad was established for Castile, Leon , and Asturias . The police force
34067-448: The same period, Flamboyant features also appeared in Manueline style in the Kingdom of Portugal . In Central Europe, the Sondergotik ("Special Gothic") style was contemporaneous with Flamboyant in France and the Isabelline in Spain. The term "Flamboyant" was first used by the French artist Eustache-Hyacinthe Langlois (1777–1837) in 1843, and then by the English historian Edward Augustus Freeman in 1851. In architectural history ,
34276-492: The soggy ground, weight was saved by wooden barrel vaults instead of stone vaults and the flying buttresses required for those. In most cases, the walls were made of bricks but cut natural stone was not unusual. Everaert Spoorwater played an important role in spreading Brabantine Gothic into Holland and Zeeland. He perfected a method by which the drawings for large constructions allowed ordering virtually all natural stone elements from quarries on later Belgian territory, then at
34485-427: The sophisticated forms characteristic of structures that were completed in the early 16th century, such as the south façade and porch of the Church of Notre-Dame de Louviers (1506–1510) and the north tower of Chartres Cathedral , which were designed by architect Jehan de Beauce (1507–1513). The style also appeared early in Île-de-France . The west rose window of the Sainte-Chapelle was made between 1485 and 1498 by
34694-572: The throne of Castile in favor of Isabella in exchange for a very favorable share of the Atlantic territories disputed with Castile (they all went to Portugal with the exception of the Canary Islands : Guinea with its mines of gold, Cape Verde , Madeira , Azores , and the right of conquest over the Kingdom of Fez ) plus a large war compensation: 106.676 dobles of gold. The Catholic Monarchs also had to accept that Joanna la Beltraneja remain in Portugal instead of Spain and to pardon all rebellious subjects who had supported Joanna and King Afonso. And
34903-517: The throne. The nobles, now in control of Alfonso and claiming that he was the true heir, clashed with King Henry's forces at the Second Battle of Olmedo in 1467. The battle was a draw. Henry agreed to recognize Alfonso as his heir presumptive , provided that he would marry his daughter, Princess Joanna. Soon after he was named Prince of Asturias , he died at the age of fourteen in July 1468. The nobles who had supported him suspected poisoning. As she had been named in her brother's will as his successor,
35112-414: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
35321-619: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
35530-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
35739-425: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
35948-416: The use of brick and stone on buildings from the 16th century can be observed, for example in the Louis XII wing of the Château of Blois . The French high roofs with turrets in the corners and the façades with helical staircases perpetuated the Gothic tradition but the systematic superposition of the bays, the removal of the lucarnes , and the appearance of loggias influenced by the villa Poggio Reale and
36157-481: The walls of the Alcázar of Segovia , where she received the support of Andres de Cabrera and Segovia's council. The next day, Isabella was proclaimed Queen of Castile and León. Isabella's reign got off to a rocky start. King Henry IV had named Isabella as his successor, so when she ascended to the throne in 1474, there were already several plots against her. Diego Pacheco , the Marquis of Villena, and his followers maintained that Joanna la Beltraneja , Henry's daughter,
36366-560: The wealth and splendour of their cities. Major examples include the town hall of Leuven (1448–1469) with its multiple, almost fantastic towers, and those of Brussels (1401–1455), Oudenaarde (1526–1536), Ghent (1519–1539), and Mons (1458–1477). Many churches in the former Counties of Holland and of Zeeland are built in a style sometimes inaccurately separated as Hollandic and as Zeelandic Gothic. These are in fact Brabantine Gothic style buildings with concessions necessitated by local conditions. Thus (except for Dordrecht ), because of
36575-589: The west window that completed the construction of Brechin Cathedral . Melrose Abbey had been destroyed during the English invasion of 1358 and the initial rebuilding followed the traditions of English masons. From c.1400, the Parisian master-builder John Morow began work on the Abbey, leaving an inscription identifying him in the church's south transept. Morow had possibly been brought to Great Britain by Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas , for whom he also worked on Lincluden Collegiate Church . The design of some windows in both Brechin and Melrose are so similar it
36784-420: The wife of King Ferdinand II . Reigning together over a dynastically unified Spain , Isabella and Ferdinand are known as the Catholic Monarchs . After a struggle to claim the throne, Isabella reorganized the governmental system, brought the crime rate down, and unburdened the kingdom of the debt which her half-brother King Henry IV had left behind. Isabella's marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 created
36993-481: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
37202-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
37411-403: The years of failed attempts at political marriages were finally over. There was talk of a marriage to Edward IV of England or to one of his brothers, probably Richard, Duke of Gloucester , but this alliance was never seriously considered. Once again in 1468, a marriage proposal arrived from Afonso V of Portugal. Going against his promises made in September 1468, Henry tried to make the marriage
37620-407: The young Joanna. A long and bloody war for the Castilian succession then took place. The war went back and forth for almost a year, until the Battle of Toro on 1 March 1476, in which both sides claimed and celebrated victory: the troops of King Afonso V were beaten by the Castilian centre-left commanded by the Duke of Alba and Cardinal Mendoza while the forces led by John of Portugal defeated
37829-449: The younger son of John II of Navarre (whose family was a cadet branch of the House of Trastámara ). At that time, the two kings, Henry and John, were eager to show their mutual love and confidence and they believed that this alliance would make their eternal friendship obvious to the world. This arrangement, however, did not last long. Ferdinand's uncle Alfonso V of Aragon died in 1458. All of Alfonso's Spanish territories, as well as
38038-440: Was able to convince Ferdinand. On 31 March 1492, the Alhambra decree for the expulsion of the Jews was issued. The Jews had until the end of July (four months) to leave the country and they were not to take with them gold, silver, money, arms, or horses. Traditionally, it had been claimed that as many as 200,000 Jews left Spain, but recent historians have shown that such figures are exaggerated: Henry Kamen has shown that out of
38247-402: Was annoyed by the enslavement of the natives by Columbus, and established a royal position on how the indigenous shall be treated. There were some circumstances in which a person could be enslaved, including being a prisoner of war , or for practising cannibalism or sodomy . After an episode in which Columbus captured 1,200 men, Isabella ordered their return and the arrest of Columbus, who
38456-428: Was born two years later on 17 November 1453, demoting her position to third in line. When her father died in 1454, her half-brother ascended to the throne as King Henry IV. Isabella and her brother Alfonso were left in King Henry's care. Isabella, Alfonso, and their mother then moved to Arévalo . These were times of turmoil for Isabella. The living conditions at the castle in Arévalo were poor, and they suffered from
38665-415: Was built as both a bell tower and a watch tower for the defence of the city. The tower was intended to be 167 metres (548 ft) high and was designed to have a 77-metre-high (253 ft) spire, only 7 metres (23 ft) of which was completed. Other notable Flamboyant cathedrals include Antwerp Cathedral with a 123-metre-high (404 ft) tower and an unusual dome on pendentives that is decorated with
38874-406: Was commissioned to repair the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya in Barcelona and worked on this project from 1410 to 1425. He designed the building's courtyard and elegant galleries. Also notable is the Chapel of Sant Jordi (1432–34), which has a striking façade consisting of an entry portal flanked by windows resplendent with blind and openwork Flamboyant tracery. The chapel's interior includes
39083-415: Was completed in the Flamboyant style in the 15th century. The façade has a central portal flanked by secondary portals and a large lancet window with curvilinear tracery that includes triskelions . Additional ornamentation in the form of naturalistic vegetation, gables, pinnacles, and delicate sculpture niches are further testaments of the talents of the masons' workshop. Work on the façade stopped before it
39292-437: Was completed; there is no evidence of the iron hooks that are needed to attach figural sculptures. At Lyon Cathedral , the Bourbons chapel, built during the last decades of the 15th century by the Cardinal Charles II, Duke of Bourbon and his brother Pierre de Bourbon , son-in-law of Louis XI, is a key example of the trend of expanding existing Gothic churches in the newer Flamboyant style. Consisting of two bays , it features
39501-420: Was continued by Ensingen's son after 1419 and much more decoration was added from 1478 to 1492 by Matthaus Boblinger. The spire was added between 1881 and 1890, which made it the tallest tower in Europe. Other remarkable towers were constructed like openwork webs of stone; these include Johannes Hultz's additions to the tower of Freiburg Minster , which had an open spiral staircase and a lacework octagonal spire;
39710-463: Was divided and never able to present a united front. It still took ten years to conquer Granada, however, culminating in 1492. The Spanish monarchs recruited soldiers from many European countries and improved their artillery with the latest and best cannon. Systematically, they proceeded to take the kingdom piece by piece. In 1485 they laid siege to Ronda , which surrendered after only a fortnight due to extensive bombardment. The following year, Loja
39919-531: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
40128-429: Was even said by one Castilian denizen of the time that murder, rape, and robbery happened without punishment. Because of this, Isabella needed desperately to find a way to reform her kingdom. Due to the measures she imposed, historians during her lifetime saw her to be more inclined to justice than to mercy, and indeed far more rigorous and unforgiving than her husband Ferdinand. Isabella's first major reform came during
40337-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
40546-494: Was insulted in the streets of Granada. Isabella realized that she could not trust all the conquest and evangelization to take place through one man, so she opened the range for other expeditions led by Alonso de Hojeda , Juan de la Cosa , Vicente Yáñez Pinzón , Diego de Lepe [ Wikidata ] or Pedro Alonso Niño . To prevent her efforts from being reversed in the future, Isabella instructed her descendants in her last will as follows: "do not give rise to or allow
40755-451: Was keeping her from the political turmoil going on in the kingdom, though Isabella had full knowledge of what was going on and of her role in the feuds. After a rumor spread that Joanna was not actually the daughter of King Henry but rather of a royal favorite, Beltrán de la Cueva , noblemen confronted King Henry and demanded that the king's younger half-brother Alfonso be named his successor. They even went so far as to ask Alfonso to seize
40964-469: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
41173-435: Was made to marry Isabella to Afonso V of Portugal , Henry's brother-in-law. Through the medium of the queen and Count of Ledesma, a Portuguese alliance was made. Isabella, however, was wary of the marriage and refused to consent. A civil war broke out in Castile over King Henry's inability to act as sovereign. Henry now needed a quick way to please the rebels of the kingdom. As part of an agreement to restore peace, Isabella
41382-529: Was made up of some 200 permanent servants or continos who performed a wide range of confidential functions on behalf of the rulers. By the 1470s, when Isabella began to take a firm grip on the royal administration, the senior offices of the royal household were simply honorary titles and held strictly by the nobility. The positions of a more secretarial nature were often held by senior churchmen. Substantial revenues were attached to such offices and were therefore enjoyed greatly, on an effectively hereditary basis, by
41591-428: Was off fighting at the time. Going against the advice of her male advisors, Isabella rode by herself into the city to negotiate with the rebels. She was successful and the rebellion was quickly brought to an end. Two years later, Isabella further secured her place as ruler with the birth of her son John, Prince of Asturias , on 30 June 1478. To many, the presence of a male heir legitimized her place as ruler. Meanwhile,
41800-431: Was opened in 1974, granting her the title Servant of God in the Catholic Church . Isabella was born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres to King John II of Castile and his second wife, Isabella of Portugal , on 22 April 1451. At the time of Isabella's birth, she was second in line to the throne after her older half-brother Henry . Henry was 26 at that time and married, but childless. Isabella's younger brother Alfonso
42009-469: Was reduced further as windows grew even larger. Major examples included the northern spire of Chartres Cathedral , Trinity Abbey , Vendôme , and Burgos Cathedral and Segovia Cathedral in Spain. It was gradually replaced by Renaissance architecture in the 16th century. French scholars define Flamboyant as the fourth phase of Gothic style, preceded by Primary Gothic , Classic Gothic and Rayonnant Gothic. British and American historians describe it as
42218-411: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
42427-428: Was taken, and again Muhammad XII was captured and released. One year later, with the fall of Málaga , the western part of the Muslim Nasrid kingdom had fallen into Spanish hands. The eastern province succumbed after the fall of Baza in 1489. The siege of Granada began in the spring of 1491 and Muhammad XII finally surrendered at the end of the year. On 2 January 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand entered Granada to receive
42636-437: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
42845-410: Was the rightful queen. Shortly after the Marquis made his claim, the Archbishop of Toledo —his great-uncle and a longtime supporter of Isabella—left court to plot with him. They made plans to have Joanna marry her uncle King Afonso V of Portugal and invade Castile to claim the throne for themselves. In May 1475, King Afonso and his army crossed into Spain and advanced to Plasencia . Here he married
43054-713: Was then to be betrothed to Pedro Girón Acuña Pacheco , Master of the Order of Calatrava and brother to the king's favorite, Juan Pacheco . In return, Don Pedro would pay into the royal treasury an enormous sum of money. Seeing no alternative, Henry agreed to the marriage. Isabella was aghast and prayed to God that the marriage would not come to pass. Her prayers were answered when Don Pedro suddenly fell ill and died while on his way to meet his fiancée. When Henry had recognized Isabella as his heir-presumptive on 19 September 1468, he had also promised that his half-sister should not be compelled to marry against her will, while she in return had agreed to obtain his consent. It seemed that
43263-450: Was to be made up of locals who were to regulate the crime occurring in the kingdom. It was to be paid for by a tax of 1800 maravedís on every one hundred households. In 1477, Isabella visited Extremadura and Andalusia to introduce this more efficient police force there as well. Keeping with her reformation of the regulation of laws, in 1481 Isabella charged two officials with restoring peace in Galicia . This turbulent province had been
43472-486: Was to use more effectively the institutions that had existed during the reigns of John II and Henry IV. Historically, the center of the Castilian government had been the royal household, together with its surrounding court. The household was traditionally divided into two overlapping bodies. The first body was made up of household officials, mainly people of the nobility, who carried out governmental and political functions for which they received special payment. The second body
43681-550: Was united by the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile in 1469, and saw the conquest of Granada , the last stronghold of Moorish occupation, in 1492. This was followed by a great wave of construction of new cathedrals and churches in what became known as the Isabelline style after the queen. This late Spanish Gothic style includes a mixture of French-inspired Flamboyant tracery and vaulting features, Flemish features such as fringed arches, and elements that may have been borrowed from Islamic architecture , such as
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